In the times of uncertainty , a complex picture of energy demand will/has surface(d). The future will see an increased emphasis on carbon legislation and energy policies posing newer challenges to the innovators/engineers/marketers and the organizations servicing these innovations to the market. More stringent environmental regulations will bring in need for still lower emissions , continued investments in use of renewable and nuclear ( if India and Pak dont go to war ).
Carbon Trading is one such business segment which has been given birth by this hunger for lower emissions and cleaner environment for the better future mankind.
Where does this come from , as mentioned in wiki "Emissions trading (or emission trading) is an administrative approach used to control pollution by providing economic incentives for achieving reductions in the emissions of pollutants. It is sometimes called cap and trade."
A business area which has been already penetrated by some big energy industry giants is all set to make it a profit making cow of the future. Multiple business opportunities will surface. If we take a look at McKinsey Quaterly tutorial on CCS ( Carbon Capture and Storage ) , we can identify the growth opportunities or new business areas that an organization would like to venture.
They can be listed as:
1. Capture of Carbon - Orgs with expertise in fuel / its combustion and its related areas will focus here. Its already a big bet business segment for the companies and regulations will do them good to create a market , the onus will then lie of the marketers to create the right mix. India may/will have to be targeted with micro-segmentation since it will have lots to do with number of small scale manufacturing units varying across products within same region.
2. Transport - The technology used for transport of natural gas will be leveraged here. The emerging markets will be the places to hunt for the profits since the technology is existent , tried and tested now who gets these in the local market meeting the price expectations and the regulations will be the boss of the game.
3. Storage - Sequestration of Carbon dioxide away from atmosphere. Players in the O&G exploration and production area will find a adjacent business area to venture into, to inject the CO2 below the earth surface they will leverage their existent expertise. However their is still a new area to capture when the storage medium is ocean. The technology to look after will be to dispense with the carbon dioxide to make it the part of the global carbon cycle.
These regulations will bless the renewable power generation market and "wind energy" has already made a grand entrance into this market. With Wind providing cheap energy , no-emmison alterantive its certainly a business future to look for ...
